The Final Selection Process The second reduction in the numbers of the force was of a significance that related to the last battles in the last days with the Baal system. The selection process was done from the way in which the elect approached water. Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. These living waters flow out of Christ (Jn. 4:10-11,14). The waters of Gideon exemplify the way in which we approach God. Those that worship God in a discriminating way are able to be used. This worship is of God (cf. The God We Worship (No. 2)). Obedience to him and respect for those acting under delegation is not worship. This may be symbolised by kneeling or prostrating oneself (the act of prostration (proskuneo) before Christ and the elect. Such action is an act of subservience, but is not of itself worship, as it is translated in Hebrews 1:6 and Revelation 3:9. We are to worship God the Father only (Lk. 4:8; Jn. 4:21-24; Phil. 3:3; Rev. 22:9). The reduction from 13 to 1 to the next figure, which represents 450 to 1, has a direct relationship to act in obedience to the delegated authority of God and placed in the individual by the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Elijah. 450 to 1 is the ratio of the priests of Baal to Elijah, as principal prophet dealing with the destruction of the Baal system, both in Ancient Israel and as the principal witness of the last days. This Baal system of the Black Cassocked Ones, the Khemarim of the Bible, will be destroyed in the last days. Gideon’s Force is assembled in the last days to do that task and accomplish the detail of the messages of revelation 14 (see the paper The Messages of Revelation 14 (No. 270)). God has stated that He will send the prophet Elijah to restore all things. Malachi 4:4-6 Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse. (RSV) The Bible is clear that Elijah will be sent to restore all things. No matter what any person does to teach the restoration of all things, the final restoration will not be complete until the nexus of the law is restored by Elijah. This has been broken under the demons and this will not be restored until Elijah comes and restores this nexus. At present it rains on the just and the unjust. Under the final part of the restoration under Elijah, the nexus of the law will restore the blessings and the curses (cf. The Blessings and the Curses (No. 75)) for the keeping of God’s Law. If we do not keep the Sabbath and the New Moons, the Passover and Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and The Feast of Tabernacles, we will get no rain in due season and all the plagues of Egypt will be placed on those who fail to send their representatives to Jerusalem for Tabernacles (Zech. 14:16-19). The relationship to the times of the end is this. The nations of Israel were given a period of forty years peace in which to disseminate the gospel and prepare the elect for the liberation under Messiah spoken of in Micah. The elect were then given exposure to idolatrous teaching, which resulted in full-blown Trinitarianism among the Churches of God. This was the error of the Laodicean Church. The Laodiceans were poor, pitiable, blind and naked. They thought themselves rich, but God has commanded Christ to spew them out of his mouth (Rev. 3:16). Those people in the church in the last days will have to buy gold refined in the fire (Rev. 3:18) of tribulation and white raiment of martyrdom (Rev. 6:11) washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:11). Sardis and Laodicea are held to be unfit to enter the kingdom of God and only individuals from those structures enter the kingdom of God. The remainder will be a relatively small force, like a commando unit, which will spread the word of God and warn the nations of the coming of Messiah. By the illumination of torches fed from the jars of the nation (see Gideon above) and using the trumpets of the watchmen of the last days, that force will work under the direction of Messiah. It will be composed of multiple tribes of Israel – initially commencing with Manasseh, Asher and Napthali with some from Zebulun (cf. Jdg. 6:35, 7:23). It extends to publishing affliction by Dan-Ephraim (Jer. 4:15) (No. 44 ibid., and No. 137 ibid.). Finally it sees the conversion of Judah and then the calling of the people to Jerusalem by Zebulun and Issacher, which is their birthright promise (cf. Calling the Peoples to Jerusalem (No. 238)). In a sense, this is a continuation of the work commenced before the start of the measuring of the Temple in Revelation 11:1. The reference to the Little Book in Revelation 10:9-11 precedes the measuring of the Temple, but is also contemporaneous with it and goes on to the 1,260 days of the two witnesses at Revelation 11:2-6. Gideon was given the understanding of the time from the dream given to one of the enemy force (Jdg. 7:13-15). Judges 7:13-15 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat. 14 And his comrade answered, This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the host. 15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand. (RSV) The 300 men were divided into three companies and given lamps and pitchers. They placed the lamps within the pitchers and, on a given signal, the whole group sounded the alarm together (Jdg. 7:16-18). Judges 7:16-18 And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, Look at me, and do likewise; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, `For the LORD and for Gideon. (RSV) This action prefigures the divisions of the work of the last days and the three shepherds who are to be removed in one month (see the paper Measuring the Temple (No. 137)). The work then involves Ephraim (Jdg. 7:24-25). The pursuit of the 15,000 children of the east by Gideon’s 300 extended over Jordan. 120,000 had been slain in the night. The battle had started at the beginning of the middle watch, i.e. just after 10 p.m. In other words this was just before midnight when the bridegroom came. The idea behind this parable gave the name to the group placing Bibles in hotels and other areas, called the Gideons. We are finding however, that the Bible texts are being corrupted in all nations and languages by the Protestant system and the mistranslations are obscuring the true Bible narration and Laws of God. Gideon attacked the camp of 15,000 with the 300 and captured the kings of Midian, Zebah (meaning sacrifice) and Zalmunna (meaning shade has been denied), who had fled (Jdg. 8:11-12). The two cities that had refused the group assistance, Succoth (meaning (idolatrous) booths or tabernacles) and Penuel (meaning the face of God), were punished for failing to render assistance. This prefigures the elements of the churches of the last days that have lapsed into false religious practice, had previously known God as the elect, and were to be punished. The elders of those in Succoth who refused food to the 300, on the grounds that they were not under their authority, were whipped with the thorns of the wilderness and with briars (Jdg. 8:7). The men of Penuel were in fact slain and their tower, or means of security and power, was destroyed (Jdg. 8:9,17). Gideon was requested to rule over Israel, but he refused saying the Lord shall rule over you (Jdg. 8:23). This is in fact the end result of the wars of the last days. The request Gideon made was that the earrings, which had been taken from the Ishmaelites, be given to him as a reward. This was done and Gideon made a gold ephod out of it and it, in fact, proved to be an object of idolatry, which became a snare to his house. The significance is not readily understood from the text. Earrings were in fact amulets, which protected the orifices from evil spirits. They were idols in their own right.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 11:40:00 +0000
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